Tufting needle



Oct 1964 G. w. MOUNT 3,154,229

TUFTING NEEDLE Filed June 23, 1961 3 gazga,

INVENTOR. Georg'e W /Wmmz g? 6, 2 /0 9 BY @WM United States Patent 3,154,229 TUFTING NEEDLE George W. Mount, 576 Leyden Road, Greenfield, Mass. Filed June 23, 1961, Ser. No. 119,150 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-102) This invention relates to tufting needles for applying tufting pieces or elements to upholstery, cushions, mattresses and the like.

More particularly it relates to a needle capable of effecting application of a tufting piece to the rear or undersurface without direct access to that surface.

It is an object of the invention to provide a needle of the above character which is simple in construction and which makes possible the easy replacement of lost buttons or other tufting pieces in upholstered articles where the rear or undersurface of the upholstery is inaccesible, as well as facilitating the application of such elements in the original upholstering operations, where similar conditions are present, and in the tufting of cushions or mattresses which are not reversed in the course of their use.

A further object is the provision of means by which a tufting member may be held adjacent the point of a tufting needle by tension applied to the tufting and attached to the tufting member.

A further object is to provide and make possible the use of a simplified tufting piece.

Other objects and advantages will be made apparent in the disclosures of the accompanying drawing and in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a needle embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of the point portion of the needle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view smiliar to FIG 2 showing the point portion in front elevation;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the tufting cord and a blind tufting member in operative assembly with the needle;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the assembly in front elevation;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary diagrammatic View showing the manner of using the needle of the preceding figures;

FIG. 7 is a plan view on an enlarged scale showing an alternative manner of threading the tufting member on the cord;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing a modified form of tufting member; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 4 showing the tufting member of FIG. 9 assembled on the needle of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the needle is shown as comprising a shaft 1 fixed at one end in a handle member 2. The free end portion of the shaft is cut or ground away on three sides, as indicated at 3, to a triangular cross section terminating in a point, generally indicated at 4. Rearwardly of the point 4 the shaft is ground or cut away at the sides to form a land 5 which slopes inwardly of the shaft toward a point 4-. A book d, preferably rectangular in cross section, extends from the land 5 adjacent the deep end thereof. The hook 6 is inclined in the direction of the point 4 and the face 7 rearwardly of the point is similarly inclined.

When a tufting is to be applied without having access to the remote face of the upholstery, a tufting piece or member 9 formed of thin, stiff metal, plastic or other suitable material, and provided with a central opening 10 is threaded, via the opening 11 on a length of cord 11. The tufting member 9 is provided adjacent one end with an opening 12 for engagement on the hook 6 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In operation, with the cord 11 threaded through opening 10, the opening 12 is engaged over the inclined hook 6 and the cord drawn taut, as shown in FIG. 4. The needle is then thrust through the upholstery, diagrammatically indicated at 13 until the member 9 clears the underside of the upholstery. The tension on the cord 11 is then released and the needle withdrawn, the member 9 being released from tensioned engagment with the hook 6 slides or drops off the hook and is left free below the undersurface of the upholstery as shown in FIG. 6. The free end of hook 6 lies slightly inwardly of the outer edge of the face 7 to prevent obstructive engagement with the stufiing of the upholstery as the needle passes therethrough. The inclination of the hook 6 assures retention of the member 9 thereon as the needle carries it through the upholstery and, with the camming action of inclination of face 7, assures release of the member 9 as the needle is withdrawn. Thereafter the piece 9 may be drawn, by the free ends of cord 11 er.- tending from the upper face, into engagement with the underside of the upholstery, and a button or other tufting member (not shown), is then tied in place against the upper face of the upholstery as by knotting the free ends of the cord about a tufting piece or in the eye of a button in the usual manner.

The location of the opening 12 closely adjacent the leading end of tufting member 9 prevents undesirable sidewise movement of the member and any tendency to such movement is further minimized by the angular shape of the opening 12 and the correspondence of the cross section of hook 6 thereto.

In FIG. 7 an alternative manner of threading the tufting member 9 on the cord 11 is shown. If found desirable opposed notches or recesses 16 may be provided at the sides of the member, and the center opening it) may be slightly increased in diameter if found necessary or desirable. In the threading operation of FIG. 7 the cord 11 is formed into a loop and the closed end of the loop is passed through the opening 113, the portion of the loop extending through the opening is then opened and passed over one end of the member 9 and the loop tightened around the member as indicated at 17 with the opposite sides of the loop respectively engaged in the receses 16 and held thereby against slippage.

The member 9, with cord 11 attached thereto as in FIG. 7 may be assembled on the needle for passage through the upholstery by engaging the opening 12 over hook 6 as shown in FIG. 4. The centered attachment of the cord to the member 9 assures a flat surface engagement of the member 9 with the upholstery surface, and the snubbing of the cord around the member 9 prevents relative movement between the cord and member and distributes the resistance of the cord to tension, over the member 9 minimizing the liability of abrasion or cutting of the cord.

In PEG. 8 is shown a modified form of needle embodying the invention. In the form of FIG. 8 the hook 6 and the cam surface 7 of the form previously described take the form, respectively of a downwardly directed hook 17 defining a slot 18 upwardly inclined from the face of land 5 and forming an open sided eye opening to the side of the needle, and by a downwardly inclined wedge shaped cam surface 19. In the use of needle of FIG. 8 the tufting piece 9 previously described is modified by repacing the opening 12 with a V-shaped notch 29. The slot or eye 17 is located, with respect to the surface 19, so as to position the opening 16 of the tufting member 9 of FIG. 9 substantially opposite the end opening of the slot 18 to the land 5, when the notch 29 is in straddling engagement with the cam surface 19. With the tufting cord 11 threaded through opening 16, preferably as in FIGS. 9 and 7, and the cord entered in the eye 17 and drawn taut, as shown in FIG. 19, the tufting piece 9 is held in engagement with the end portion of the needle in its passage through the upholstery, the engagement of the notch 21'} on the wedge face 2% preventing side-wise movement of the leading end of the tufting piece 9. Upon withdrawal of the needle, when the tufting piece 9 has cleared the rear face of the upholstery, the downward and outward inclination of the inner surface 21 of the slot 18 frees the cord from engagement with hook 17 while the downwardly directed cam face assures freeing of the tufting member.

As will be apparent, the illustrative forms of the invention described provide means by which the tufting piece is held to the needle adjacent the point during its passage through the upholstery, by the application of tension to the tufting cord on which the member is threaded or otherwise connected.

What is claimed is:

1. A tufting needle which comprises a shaft having a forward and rearward end and provided at its rearward end with a handle, the forward end portion of the shaft terminating in a point, said forward portion being cut away to form a land spaced rearwardly of said point,

said land being flat and inclined inwardly of the shaft from one end of the land to the other in the direction of said point and terminating adjacent said point in a cam surface inclined outwardly of the shaft in the direction of said point, and hook means extending from the face of land and inclined in the direction of said point at a position rearwardly of said cam surface to releaseably hold a flat tufting strip flatly against said land with one end of said strip positioned rearwardly of and adjacent said cam surface by tension applied to a tufting cord secured to the strip intermediate its ends.

2. The needle of claim 1 wherein said hook means is rectangular in cross section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A TUFTING NEEDLE WHICH COMPRISES A SHAFT HAVING A FORWARD AND REARWARD END AND PROVIDED AT ITS REARWARD END WITH A HANDLE, THE FORWARD END PORTION OF THE SHAFT TERMINATING IN A POINT, SAID FORWARD PORTION BEING CUT AWAY TO FORM A LAND SPACED REARWARDLY OF SAID POINT, SAID LAND BEING FLAT AND INCLINED INWARDLY OF THE SHAFT FROM ONE END OF THE LAND TO THE OTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID POINT AND TERMINATING ADJACENT SAID POINT IN A CAM SURFACE INCLINED OUTWARDLY OF THE SHAFT IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID POINT, AND HOOK MEANS EXTENDING FROM THE FACE OF LAND AND INCLINED IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID POINT AT A POSITION REARWARDLY OF SAID CAM SURFACE TO RELEASEABLY HOLD A FLAT TUFTING STRIP FLATLY AGAINST SAID LAND WITH ONE END OF SAID STRIP POSITIONED REARWARDLY OF AND ADJACENT SAID CAM SURFACE BY TENSION APPLIED TO A TUFTING CORD SECURED TO THE STRIP INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS. 